Golf bag with a stand

ABSTRACT

A golf bag includes a bag body having a rigid bottom end with horizontal and inclined portions, and a stand unit with two legs pivoted to the bag body, and two push rods pivoted to the legs. A footplate is provided with a pivot connector at a middle portion thereof. The pivot connector defines a pivot hole for receiving rotatably a crossbar that interconnects lower ends of the push rods. The footplate is disposed below the inclined portion of the bottom end of the bag body, and is free of a connection with the bottom end of the bag body. The footplate is coplanar with the horizontal portion when the bag body is at an upright position. When the bag body is tilted, the legs pivot away from the bag body, and the footplate is coplanar with the inclined portion of the bottom end of the bag body.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a golf bag with a stand, moreparticularly to a golf bag which can stand stably at both upright andtilted positions and which can be easily assembled to result in lowerassembly and manufacturing costs.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,399 discloses a golf bag with a bag body anda stand. The bag body has a rigid base formed with an indentation on itsunderside. A pair of legs are pivoted to the bag body at their upperends. An outer wall surface of the bag body is provided with a holderfor holding slidably a pair of push rods that have upper ends pivoted tothe legs. Lower ends of the push rods are bent and extend into theindentation, and are connected to each other by a horizontal bar. Whenthe bag body is tilted, the push rods push the legs and force the legsto pivot and extend away from the bag body so as to enable lower ends ofthe legs to rest on a ground surface for supporting the bag body in thetilted position. At the tilted position, the bottom of the bag body isin linear contact with the ground surface at two linear edges of theindentation. As such, the bag body cannot be well supported at thetilted position, especially when disposed on soft or uneven ground.

[0005] U.S. Pat. No. 5,857,567 discloses another golf bag with a basebracket mounted on bottom of a tubular bag body. The underside of thebase bracket is defined with a planar portion and an inclined portionadjacent to the planar portion. A driving plate is disposed below theinclined portion, and has one end mounted pivotally to the base bracketat a juncture of the planar portion and the inclined portion, and anopposite end connected pivotally to a bent lower end of an upright pushrod. When the bag body stands vertically on a ground surface, the planarportion of the base bracket is in contact with the ground surface.Meanwhile, the driving plate is disposed coplanar with the planarportion to help support the bag body at the upright position. A pair ofsupporting legs are pivoted to an upper end of the bag body at theirupper ends. An upper end of the push rod is pivoted to the supportinglegs such that when the bag body is tilted, the supporting legs arepushed by the push rod and pivot away from the bag body for supportingthe bag body on a ground surface at a tilted position. At this time, theinclined portion of the base bracket is in contact with the groundsurface, and the driving plate is completely retracted to be disposedunder the inclined portion of the base bracket since the driving platehas a width equal to the width of the inclined portion. Accordingly,with the provision of the inclined portion on the underside of the basebracket, the bag body can be well supported at the tilted position.Moreover, the driving plate can help support the bag body at the uprightposition. The golf bag can thus stand stably at both upright and tiltedpositions.

[0006] However, mounting of the driving plate on the underside of thebase bracket significantly complicates the manufacture and assemblyprocesses of the base bracket, thereby resulting in increasedmanufacturing costs. Moreover, since the driving plate has a relativelylarge size that generally corresponds to the area of the inclinedportion, a corresponding increase in the material cost results.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to providea golf bag which can stand stably at both upright and tilted positionsand which can be easily assembled to result in lower assembly andmanufacturing costs.

[0008] Accordingly, the golf bag of the present invention includes a bagbody and a stand unit. The bag body has a top end, a rigid bottom end,and a surrounding wall extending between the top and bottom ends. Thesurrounding wall has an outer wall surface formed with a push rod holderproximate to the rigid bottom end. The push rod holder is formed with avertically extending slot unit. The rigid bottom end has an undersidewith a horizontal portion extending along a horizontal plane, and aninclined portion adjacent to the horizontal portion and extendingupwardly and rearwardly from the horizontal portion. The horizontalportion is adapted to be in contact with a ground surface when the bagbody is in an upright position. The inclined portion is adapted to be incontact with the ground surface when the bag body is in a tiltedposition. The stand unit includes a pivot seat, a pair of upright legs,a push member and a footplate. The pivot seat is secured to the outerwall surface of the bag body proximate to the top end. Each of the legshas an upper end pivoted to the pivot seat, and a lower end adapted tobe supported on the ground surface. The push member has a pair ofupright push rods that extend slidably through the vertically extendingslot unit in the push rod holder on the bag body. Each of the push rodshas an upper end disposed below the pivot seat and pivoted to arespective one of the upright legs, a bent lower end which extends belowthe inclined portion of the rigid bottom end of the bag body, and anintermediate section between the upper and lower ends. The push memberfurther has a horizontal crossbar interconnecting the lower ends of thepush rods. The push rods push the legs and cause the legs to pivot awayfrom the bag body so as to enable the lower ends of the legs to rest onthe ground surface when the bag body is disposed at the tilted position.The footplate is disposed below the inclined portion of the rigid bottomend of the bag body, and is free of a connection with the rigid bottomend of the bag body. The footplate has a front edge portion proximate tothe horizontal portion of the rigid bottom end of the bag body, a rearedge portion opposite to the front edge portion, and a middle portionbetween the front and rear edge portions. The footplate has a top sideformed with a pivot connector that defines a pivot hole with ahorizontal axis and that is disposed at the middle portion. The crossbaris received rotatably in the pivot hole and is coupled pivotally to thefootplate. The footplate further has a bottom side adapted to besupported on the ground surface. The push rods have a length sufficientto enable the bottom side of the footplate to be disposed coplanar withthe horizontal portion of the rigid bottom end of the bag body to helpsupport the bag body when the bag body is at the upright position, andto enable the bottom side of the footplate to be disposed coplanar withthe inclined portion of the rigid bottom end of the bag body to helpsupport the bag body when the bag body is at the tilted position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Other features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent in the following detailed description of the preferredembodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

[0010]FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a preferred embodimentof the golf bag of the present invention;

[0011]FIG. 2 is a side view of the preferred embodiment, where a bagbody is shown to be in an upright position;

[0012]FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional top view showing a push rodholder formed on the bag body of the golf bag of the preferredembodiment;

[0013]FIG. 4 is a fragmentary partly sectional view of the preferredembodiment, illustrating the connection between a footplate and a pushmember of the golf bag of the preferred embodiment; and

[0014]FIG. 5 is a side view of the preferred embodiment, where the bagbody is shown to be in a tilted position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0015] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the preferred embodiment of the golfbag of the present invention is shown to include a bag body 1 and astand unit 3.

[0016] The bag body 1 includes a tubular body 11 with a cover lid 13mounted on an upper end thereof, and a rigid base 12 mounted on a lowerend thereof. The cover lid 13 defines a top end of the bag body 1. Therigid base 12 has a bottom wall 121 that defines a rigid bottom end ofthe bag body 1, and an annular wall 122 that extends upwardly from thebottom wall 121 and that cooperates with the tubular body 11 to define asurrounding wall of the bag body 1. The bottom wall 121 has an undersidewhich includes a horizontal portion 123 and an inclined portion 124adjacent to the horizontal portion 123. The inclined portion 124 extendsupwardly and rearwardly from the horizontal portion 123. The horizontalportion 123 is adapted to be in contact with a ground surface 5 when thebag body 1 stands upright on the ground surface 5. The inclined portion124 is adapted to be in contact with the ground surface 5 when the bagbody 1 is tilted relative to the ground surface 5 (see FIG. 5). Both thehorizontal portion 123 and the inclined portion 124 are formed with aplurality of bosses and recesses to increase friction acting on theground surface 5. The inclined portion 124 has an indentation 125.

[0017] With further reference to FIG. 3, the annular wall 122 has anouter wall surface formed with a push rod holder 33 which includes apair of holding members 331 that project from the annular wall 122 on arear side of the bag body 1 adjacent to the indentation 125 of theinclined portion 124 and that are spaced-apart in a horizontaldirection. Each of the holding members 331 defines a verticallyextending slot 330 with open upper and lower ends, and is formed with anotch 332 on one side that confronts the other one of the holdingmembers 331. The notch 332 is communicated with the slot 330 in therespective one of the holding members 331.

[0018] Referring back to FIGS. 1 and 2, the stand unit 3 is disposedadjacent to the rear side of the bag body 1, and includes a horizontallyextending pivot seat 32, a pair of upright legs 34 having upper endspivoted to the pivot seat 32, a push member 35 with a clip 36, and afootplate 37 mounted on a lower end of the push member 35.

[0019] The pivot seat 32 is secured to an outer wall surface of the bagbody 1 proximate to the top end of the bag body 1, and is registeredwith the push rod holder 33 in a vertical direction. The push member 35includes a pair of upright push rods 352 having upper ends disposedbelow the pivot seat 32 and pivoted to the upright legs 34. The pushrods 352 have bent lower ends which are interconnected by a horizontalcrossbar 351. The clip 36 is mounted on intermediate sections of thepush rods 352, and extends across the intermediate sections. Theintermediate sections of the push rods 352 are extended into the slots330 via the notches 332 (see FIG. 3) of the holding members 331 so as tobe retained slidably and respectively on the holding members 331. Theclip 36 serves to retain the intermediate section of the push rods 352in a parallel relationship with each other so as to ensure smoothsliding movement of the push rods 352 through the slots 330. The bentlower ends of the push rods 352 and the crossbar 351 extend below theinclined portion 124 of the bottom wall 121 of the rigid base 12.

[0020] The footplate 37 is disposed below the inclined portion 124 ofthe bottom wall 121 of the rigid base 12, and is free of a connectionwith the bottom end of the bag body 1. With further reference to FIG. 4,the footplate 37 has a front edge portion 372 proximate to thehorizontal portion 123 of the bottom end of the bag body 1, a rear edgeportion 373 opposite to the front edge portion 372, and a middle portion374 between the front and rear edge portions 372, 373. The footplate 37further has a top side 375 mounted with a pivot connector 38 at themiddle portion 374 of the footplate 37. The pivot connector 38 is formedto have a curved plate portion that cooperates with the top side 375 todefine a pivot hole 383 with a horizontal axis. The pivot connector 38has a first edge portion 381 retained in a retaining hole 376 formed inthe footplate 37, and an opposite second edge portion 382 fastened tothe footplate 37 by means of screws. The crossbar 351 of the push member35 is received rotatably in the pivot hole 383 and is coupled pivotallyto the footplate 37. The footplate 37 has a bottom side 371 formed witha plurality of bosses 377 that have tip portions adapted to be incontact with the ground surface 5 to increase friction of the footplate37 acting on the ground surface 5.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 2, the push rods 352 have a length sufficient toenable the bottom side 371 of the footplate 37 to be coplanar with thehorizontal portion 123 of the bottom end of the bag body 1 so as tocooperate with the horizontal portion 123 to support the bag body 1 onthe ground surface 5 at the upright position in a relatively stablemanner. Referring to FIG. 5, when the bag body 1 is tilted, the inclinedportion 124 is moved toward the ground surface 5 and toward thefootplate 37. The push rods 352 slide upwardly relative to the push rodholder 33, and push the legs 34 and cause the legs 34 to pivot away fromthe bag body 1 so as to enable lower ends 342 of the legs 34 to rest onthe ground surface 5 to help support the bag body 1 at the tiltedposition. At this time, the bottom side 371 of the footplate 37 isgenerally coplanar with the inclined portion 124 of the bottom end ofthe bag body 1, is in contact with the ground surface 5, and cooperateswith the inclined portion 312 to support the bag body 1. The footplate37 is hidden and retracted in the indentation 125 at this time. Thus,the footplate 37 is always kept in contact with the ground surface 5 toprovide a relatively good supporting effect during movement of the bagbody 1 from the upright position to the tilted position, and vice versa.

[0022] During assembly, the crossbar 351 is received in the pivot hole383 before the pivot connector 38 is fastened to the top side 375 of thefootplate 37 (see FIG. 4). The pivot seat 32 is secured to the bag body1 by means of fasteners. Thereafter, the intermediate sections of thepush rods 352 are extended through the notches 332 and into the slots330 in the holding members 331 of the push rod holder 33 to completeassembly of the stand unit 3 to the bag body 1. Since there is no needfor mounting the footplate 37 pivotally on the bottom end of the bagbody 1, the assembly process is simplified.

[0023] It has thus been shown that, with the provision of the footplate37 below the inclined portion 124 of the bottom end of the bag body 1,the contact area between the golf bag and the ground surface 5 isincreased when the bag body 1 is at either the upright or tiltedposition. In addition, by providing the pivot connector 38 at the middleportion 374 of the footplate 37, there is no need to connect thefootplate 37 to the bottom end of the bag body 1, and the size of thefootplate 37 can be reduced while maintaining a relatively goodsupporting effect. The golf bag of this invention can thus be producedwith a lower material cost.

[0024] While the present invention has been described in connection withwhat is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it isunderstood that this invention is not limited to the disclosedembodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included withinthe spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompassall such modifications and equivalent arrangements.

I claim:
 1. A golf bag comprising: a bag body having a top end, a rigidbottom end, and a surrounding wall extending between said top and bottomends, said surrounding wall having an outer wall surface formed with apush rod holder proximate to said rigid bottom end, said push rod holderbeing formed with a vertically extending slot unit, said rigid bottomend having an underside with a horizontal portion extending along ahorizontal plane, and an inclined portion adjacent to said horizontalportion and extending upwardly and rearwardly from said horizontalportion, said horizontal portion being adapted to be in contact with aground surface when said bag body is in an upright position, saidinclined portion being adapted to be in contact with the ground surfacewhen said bag body is in a tilted position; and a stand unit including apivot seat secured to said outer wall surface of said bag body proximateto said top end, a pair of upright legs, each of which has an upper endpivoted to said pivot seat, and a lower end adapted to be supported onthe ground surface, a push member having a pair of upright push rodsthat extend slidably through said vertically extending slot unit in saidpush rod holder, each of said push rods having an upper end disposedbelow said pivot seat and pivoted to a respective one of said uprightlegs, a bent lower end which extends below said inclined portion of saidrigid bottom end of said bag body, and an intermediate section betweensaid upper and lower ends, said push member further having a horizontalcrossbar interconnecting said lower ends of said push rods, said pushrods pushing said legs and causing said legs to pivot away from said bagbody so as to enable said lower ends of said legs to rest on the groundsurface when said bag body is disposed at the tilted position, and afootplate disposed below said inclined portion of said rigid bottom endof said bag body, and free of a connection with said rigid bottom end ofsaid bag body, said footplate having a front edge portion proximate tosaid horizontal portion of said rigid bottom end of said bag body, arear edge portion opposite to said front edge portion, and a middleportion between said front and rear edge portions, said footplate havinga top side formed with a pivot connector that defines a pivot hole witha horizontal axis and that is disposed at said middle portion, saidcrossbar being received rotatably in said pivot hole and being coupledpivotally to said footplate, said footplate further having a bottom sideadapted to be supported on the ground surface, said push rods having alength sufficient to enable said bottom side of said footplate to bedisposed coplanar with said horizontal portion of said rigid bottom endof said bag body to help support said bag body when said bag body is atthe upright position, and to enable said bottom side of said footplateto be disposed coplanar with said inclined portion of said rigid bottomend of said bag body to help support said bag body when said bag body isat the tilted position.
 2. The golf bag as claimed in claim 1, whereinsaid stand unit further includes a clip mounted on and extending acrosssaid intermediate sections of said push rods for retaining saidintermediate sections of said push rods in a parallel relationship witheach other so as to ensure smooth sliding movement of said push rodsthrough said vertically extending slot unit in said push rod holder. 3.The golf bag as claimed in claim 1, wherein said push rod holderincludes a pair of holding members that are spaced apart in a horizontaldirection, said vertically extending slot unit including a pair ofvertically extending slots, each of which is formed through a respectiveone of said holding members, each of said push rods extending slidablythrough said vertically extending slot in a respective one of saidholding members, each of said holding members having one sideconfronting the other one of said holding members and formed with anotch that is communicated with said slot, said intermediate section ofeach of said push rods being extended into said slot via said notch inthe respective one of said holding members.
 4. The golf bag as claimedin claim 3, wherein said bag body includes a tubular body with a lowerend, and a rigid base secured to said lower end of said tubular body,said rigid base having a bottom wall that defines said rigid bottom endand an annular wall that extends upwardly from said bottom wall and thatis connected to said tubular body, said holding members of said push rodholder being formed on said annular wall of said rigid base.
 5. The golfbag as claimed in claim 1, wherein said bag body includes a tubular bodywith a lower end, and a rigid base secured to said lower end of saidtubular body, said rigid base having a bottom wall that defines saidrigid bottom end and an annular wall that extends upwardly from saidbottom wall and that is connected to said tubular body, said push rodholder being formed on said annular wall of said rigid base.
 6. The golfbag as claimed in claim 1, wherein said underside of said rigid bottomend of said bag body is formed with a plurality of bosses and recessesto result in increased friction acting on the ground surface.
 7. Thegolf bag as claimed in claim 1, wherein said bottom side of saidfootplate is formed with a plurality of bosses that have tip portionsadapted to contact the ground surface.